“Spell your name so the graphics people can put it
on the screen correctly, please.”
The lanky-looking woman with the long, straight
blonde hair flipped it over her shoulder. Her legs were covered by a blanket. “Peri
Walker. P-E-R-I W-A-L-K-E-R.”
“Peri. That’s an unusual name for a woman.”
“It’s short for Perpugilliam. It’s a name from some
British show. My dad was a fan.”
“What do you do for a living, Peri?”
Peri shifted in chair, looking around the room out
of the corner of her eye. “I’m a P.I. – a private investigator.”
“Just look at me,” the interviewer said.
“Sorry,” said Peri.
“That’s all right,” the interviewer said. “So,
what’s it like being a woman P.I.?”
“If you mean as compared to being a male P.I., I
have no idea; I’ve never been one,” Peri said.
The interviewer laughed.
“Mostly, it’s routine investigations – cheating
spouses, insurance investigations, the odd case where a family member feels
their late loved one hasn’t gotten justice.” Peri was quiet for a second. “Or
it was until recently.” She looked around again.
“We need you to look at me for how the shot will
play on TV,” the interviewer said.
“Sorry,” said Peri. “I’ve got to keep an eye out. I
never know what I’ll find, or who, or where.”
“And you’re looking for someone,” the interviewer said.
“That’s why we’re doing this.”
Peri nodded. “I’m trying to locate victims of a very
unusual set of thieves.”
“What’s so unusual about them?”
“It’s what they steal,” Peri said. “They steal
things people think can’t be stolen.”
“You mean, like art objects, or well-guarded items?”
“You’re not going to believe my answer,” Peri said.
“Try me,” the interviewer said.
Peri seemed to withdraw within herself. She spoke
quietly, but intensely. “We’re dealing with forces beyond the world you know …
beyond the world of science, and computers. In layman’s terms, it’s magic, but
what we’re dealing with, what I’m fighting, even goes beyond that. This is
something that can … bend personal reality, shift it, twist it, and chew up the
person it’s attached to in the process. It’s dark, dark magic, and very old.
And so are some of its practitioners.”
The interviewer chuckled. “So, are we talking
vampires?”
Peri’s gaze froze the interviewer to the core. “I
only wish we were.”
“I’m sorry, but you have to admit, this is pretty
bizarre sounding,” the interviewer said.
“Try living it,” snapped Peri. “I think we’re done
here.”
“What?” the interviewer asked. “But I thought you’d
say more about what you wanted.”
“You’re already mocking me, and when I try to
explain what – and who – I’m looking for, you’ll laugh me out of the room,”
Peri said. “You’ll never run this interview, even if we finish it. You’ll write
me off as a nut, and the evil will continue, and this will have gotten me no
closer to stopping it, and to finding the people I need to do this. This was a
mistake.”
“But please, what is this evil? How ancient are we
talking here?”
“I said we’re done,” Peri said. “Thank you, and I
apologize for your wasted time.”
The interviewer sighed as she looked back at her
cameraman. “All right, I guess we’re done. Let’s head back to the studio.”
(Tape ends.)
Book: Eve’s Thieves
Author: Mac Rome
Blurb:
A group of women
have been the victims of some unusual thefts. They have had, not items, but
aspects of their physical being, such as their heights, builds and youth stolen
via dark magic. To stop the thieves and restore themselves, they band together
to defeat the loose confederation known as Eve's Thieves. To do it, they must
battle an ancient evil, deal with betrayal … and face the darkness within
themselves. But they soon find that little is as it seems. Can they trust
anyone -- even each other? Who is the leader of the group known as Eve’s
Thieves? What will it take to stop her … and will any of them survive to do it?
Website:
Bio:
Mac Rome writes in a variety of genres and settings,
including numerous nonfiction articles for regional publications. Writing as
macromega, he is the author of several comic book series, including “Bigger
Than This,” set for release from Giantess Fan Comics Aug. 14.
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